Chef Michel NIschan visits Swanton Berry Farm, the first organic farm in California.

Sitting down to a tasty dinner? Do you know where that chicken came from? Or those carrots or string beans? Your local grocery store is not the right answer. Most of the food we purchase travels extensive lengths before landing in our hometown - about 1,500 miles in most cases. This reliance on food that is shipped in from anonymous sources is part of an unhealthy trend towards unconscious eating (or unaware consumption, if you will).

Well, of course women make great farmers. Why do you think they call it Mother Earth? From babies to baby spinach, it’s all about the nurturing. We’re good at that: keeping crops, or kids, well-fed and watered; making sure our babies are not too hot or cold; protecting them from pests and plagues, and so on.